Ocean, nature, critters, and recreation

October 2017

Oct 23, 2017

The frantic moments as a large killer whale approached five swimmers in shallow water off New Zealand, sending them scrambling toward shore, were captured on video Saturday.

Viewers will note that the swimmers, who were friends, are laughing almost hysterically as they hurry to distance themselves from the ominous-looking dorsal fin cutting the surface.

“Get out of the water! Get out of the water,” a woman, perhaps the videographer, yells from the beach.

TVNZ, first to report on the too-close-for-comfort encounter, stated that it occurred off the Coromandel Peninsula, and that the friends ended up naming the killer whale Willy (as in Free Willy).

Storyful reports that the swimmers had spotted three orcas swimming much farther offshore, and were surprised when one of them suddenly appeared in the surf zone.

Kelly Lindsay, the woman who videotaped the encounter, told Storyful: “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see such a beautiful animal up close in the wild. We won’t be forgetting this anytime soon."

But in the footage, somebody nearby, perhaps one of the swimmers, chimes in with a different reaction.

“That was bloody scary,” she says.

Killer whales, also called orcas, are apex predators, but they've never been known to attack swimmers in the wild.

Oct 09, 2017

South Africa’s Mosell Bay is one of the world’s premier destinations for cage diving with great white sharks.

But sometimes the most dramatic events occur on the surface and are witnessed from the decks of boats.

That was the case recently, anyway, for passengers aboard a dive boat operated by White Shark Africa.

One of the clients, Kamille Nielsen, captured footage of a white shark ambushing a cape fur seal – and the cheers from those aboard the boat after the attack.

It’s hardly a rare event – South Africa’s white sharks prey almost exclusively on seals during certain times of the year – but it is rare to capture one of these ambush attacks on video.

Mosell Bay, about halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, is known for its seasonal abundance of seals and sharks.

But it’s also part of a whale migration route and a calving grounds for southern right whales. Humpback whales, Bryde’s whales and orcas are among other large marine mammals spotted in the sprawling bay.